TLDR
- LeBron James will earn $15 million a year endorsing Polymarket, according to Front Office Sports.
- The deal pays nearly four times his expected $4 million salary from the Philadelphia 76ers this season.
- A source said James is an endorser, not an investor, in the prediction market.
- James will promote football rather than basketball, according to The Athletic.
- New York’s attorney general has sued Polymarket, calling it an illegal gambling operation.
LeBron James has signed an endorsement deal with Polymarket worth $15 million a year, according to a report from Front Office Sports. Polymarket is a crypto-based prediction market where users trade on the outcomes of real-world events.
The deal pays James nearly four times what he is expected to earn from the Philadelphia 76ers this season. Front Office Sports reported his 76ers pay at about $4 million for the 2026-27 season.
A source told the outlet that James is an endorser of the company, not an investor. That means he is being paid to promote Polymarket rather than buying into it.
What James Will Promote
According to The Athletic, James will focus on promoting football as part of the partnership. He will not center his work on basketball, the sport he plays professionally.
The reports did not give details on how the football promotion will work. They also did not say how long the deal will last.
The NBA places limits on how much its players can invest in outside companies. Commissioner Adam Silver has said players are capped at 1% ownership stakes.
James has also been the subject of trading on prediction markets. Contracts tied to James drew more than $270 million in trading this summer, according to The Athletic.
More than $45 million of that trading took place on Polymarket. The rest was spread across other platforms that offer similar contracts.
Legal Challenge in New York
The deal comes as Polymarket faces a lawsuit from New York’s attorney general. The lawsuit alleges that Polymarket is running an illegal gambling operation.
This means James is now endorsing a platform whose legal status is being contested in court. The case has not yet been resolved.
Polymarket has continued to build ties with athletes and sports leagues while the legal questions remain open. Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League have both formed partnerships with the company.
The NBA is reportedly weighing its own deal with Polymarket. The league has not announced a formal agreement.
For now, James’s role is set as a paid endorser focused on football. His yearly payment from Polymarket is far larger than his reported salary from the 76ers.
The New York lawsuit against Polymarket will now move through the courts. Its outcome could decide whether the platform can keep operating in the state.
The next development to watch is whether the NBA follows MLB and the NHL into a formal partnership with Polymarket. If it does, the league would be working with the same platform that its biggest star now endorses.
